The feud follows shortly after another dust-up between Niall and Wales rugby player Mike Phillips.

The Irish boybander recently took to Twitter to slam the athlete, writing: 'Mike Phillips is like a child throwing his toys out of the pram! His attitude is terrible, looks like a right arrogant idiot.'

But Mike didn't take the jibe laying down, according to The Mirror.

'Come down to training in the week, big boy. And bring the rest of the Beatles with you,' he wrote.

While 1D purportedly aren't making many fans in the sports arena, the group is preparing to greet millions of screaming teens when they launch their upcoming Where We Are Tour later this month.

The singers are scheduled to play their first concert in Bogota, Colombia on April 25, and will continue with their concerts across South America before trekking to Europe and North America, wrapping the tour in Miami, Florida on October 5.